NOVEMBER 26TH

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 26, the 331st day of 2008.
There are 35 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• Nov. 26, 1789, was a day of thanksgiving set aside by President Washington to observe the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

On this date:

• In 1825, the first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
• In 1883, former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Mich.
• In 1933, a judge in New York decided the James Joyce book "Ulysses" was not obscene and could therefore be published in the United States.
• In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning Dec. 1.
• In 1942, the motion picture "Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.
• In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed.
• In 1949, India adopted a constitution as a republic within the British Commonwealth.
• In 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.
• In 1965, France launched its first satellite, sending a 92-pound capsule into orbit.
• In 1973, President Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

Ten years ago:

• In the first speech ever by a British prime minister to an Irish parliament, Tony Blair predicted that Northern Ireland's troubled peace accord would ultimately work because of a strengthened cooperative spirit uniting Britain and Ireland.
• In India, at least 211 people died when two trains collided in the northern state of Punjab.

Five years ago:

• Human rights activist Gao Zhan, who was freed from a Chinese prison after the U.S. government interceded on her behalf, pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Va., to illegally selling American high-tech items with potential military uses to China. (Gao later received a reduced sentence of seven months in prison for her cooperation with authorities.)
• Hard-liners defeated moderates in Northern Ireland's legislative elections.

One year ago:

• President Bush met separately at the White House with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority a day ahead of a major Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md.
• Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an irregular heartbeat and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for evaluation.
• President Bush greeted the 2007 Nobel Prize winners, including former Vice President Al Gore.
• Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott announced his retirement after a 35-year career in Congress.
• Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was mortally wounded when he was shot during a botched armed robbery at his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla. (Taylor died the next day.)
• Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack died in Freer, Texas, at age 74.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Ellen Albertini Dow is 90.
• Impressionist Rich Little is 70.
• Singer Tina Turner is 69.
• Singer Jean Terrell is 64.
• Pop musician John McVie is 63.
• Actress Jamie Rose is 49.
• Country singer Linda Davis is 46.
• Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 43.
• Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 43.
• Actress Kristin Bauer is 35.
• Actor Peter Facinelli is 35.
• Actress Maia Campbell is 32.
• Country singer Joe Nichols is 32.
• Actress Jessica Bowman is 28.
• Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 27.
• Singer Lil Fizz is 23.
• Singer Aubrey Collins is 21.

Thought for Today:

"Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it."
Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862)

"Let's all be careful out there!"